on-prem
Firm faces quandary of wanting to help the environment, but also wanting to force AI on everyone
Microsoft says it matched its entire electricity consumption with renewable energy last year. The bad news is it also increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25 percent due to datacenter construction.The cloud and software biz has released a 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report [PDF], claiming its environmental sustainability work is entering a new phase due to rapid technological change.A global shift towards AI is reshaping economies, the report claims, which is becoming “foundational” to how technology is built and used.
Producing the infrastructure to support AI, however, is also upping demand for energy, water, land, and materials required to support it, Microsoft admits.
The foreword, penned by President Brad Smith and Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa, says that “AI can deliver broad societal, economic, and environmental benefits,” and “We do not see these dynamics as a reason to step back. We see them as a mandate to lead differently.”In 2020, Microsoft set itself the goal of becoming "carbon-negative" by 2030. Its own figures show emissions heading only upwards, from 13 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020, to 20 million tons in 2025. However, Microsoft estimates that without the carbon reduction initiatives it has already put in place, emissions would now stand at 34 million tons.
